Linfield winning Northwest Conference football championships is not taken
for granted. But, these days NWC titles are not out of the ordinary.
That was not always the case.
The Henry Lever-coached Wildcats claimed Linfield's first conference football championship in 1935. That's what Linfield Athletics and newspapers covering the team at the time say.
However, some sources, including a list of conference champs posted at the
NWC website and the Willamette football media guide say Willamette was the
titlist.
Linfield and Willamette football teams did not play each other in 1935. Willamette had a
4-0-0 conference record and Linfield was 3-0-1.
The athletics chapter of a 1956 book -- Linfield's Hundred Years: A
Centennial History of Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon, edited by Kenneth Holmes -- says "Linfield's
only Northwest Conference football championship was won in 1935 under Coach
Henry Lever." Paul Durham, then
Linfield football coach and athletic director, wrote the chapter. Members of
the 1935 team included Durham, Roy
and Morrie Helser.
In summary, which team won the title or which teams
shared the 1935 title is disputed, but not by Wildcatville.
There's no dispute Linfield won the 1956 NWC football title.
That's the Wildcats team which started Linfield's famous "The
Streak." Since the 1956 season, every Linfield football team has had a
winning record, something no other college football program on any level can
boast. Coached by Durham, the 1956 Wildcats won the Northwest Conference title
and had 3-1-1 conference record and was 6-1-2 overall. Lewis & Clark was
second with 3-2-0 in the NWC and 7-3 for the season.
::::::::::::
=NWC FOOTBALL 1935=
Team Conf win-loss-tie ... Points for, Points against ...
Season record win-loss-tie
Willamette 4-0-0 85 6 5-2
Linfield 3-0-1 41 6 5-2-2
Whitman 3-2-1 38 22 6-2-1
Puget Sound 1-2-1 14 21 4-4-1
Col of Idaho 2-3-0 31 71
Pacific 1-3-2 19 46 2-4-2
Albany 0-4-1 20 74 1-5-1
Co-championship motion at 12-14-35 conf meeting to name Willamette champ “came
to naught”. Linfield did not play Willamette. NWC sked CPS at Linf 10/19;
neither media guide has result. Standings from Walla Walla Bulletin. Albany’s
28-game losing streak ended with ?-? tie with Pacific.
=NWC FOOTBALL 1956=
Team Conf win-loss-tie ... Points for, Points against ...
Season record win-loss-tie
Linfield 3-1-1 84 58 6-1-2
L&C 3-2-0 101 81 7-3
Willamette 2-1-2 71 54 2-4-2
Whitman 2-2-1 78 77 4-4-1
Col of Idaho 2-3-0 100 86
Pacific 1-4-0 46 124 3-6
..................
--Link to PDF of an Oregonian
sports page for Thur., Dec. 13, 1956. Zoom in on the story (upper left hand
corner of the page) headlined "Banquet Held for Elevens: Linfield's Morris Awarded Trophy." It's about the 1956
Paul Durham-coached Linfield NWC championship football team. But, there's also
mention of the Henry Lever-coached 1935 Wildcats NWC championship team and the
1956 Don Mabee-coached McMinnville
High School football team. Banquet speaker was George Pasero, Oregon Journal sports editor.
--Link to PDF from an Oregonian
sports page for Sat., Sept. 15, 1956, previews the 1956 Linfield football team. That season started with consecutive home games vs. Portland State, Lewis & Clark and the Seattle Ramblers.
